Your Unpaid-Wage Demand Has One Total. Can You Show How You Calculated It?

You may know that your pay was short before you can calculate the exact amount. A rough total can identify the problem, but it is only a starting point. As a federal wage case moves into discovery, each claimed category needs its own computation and supporting records.

In Platt, the court allowed an allegation of approximately $10,000 in unpaid wages and overtime to proceed. It then explained that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26 required computations for each damages category and the documents supporting them. The difference is between alleging a claim and showing how its dollar amount was derived.

Separate the amounts you are asking for

Begin with the work periods, pay rates and payments at issue. Keep the claimed wage shortfall separate from any additional recovery counsel is evaluating. A contract-notice claim, for example, may involve a different promise and different facts from an unpaid-overtime claim.

In Platt, the contract dispute concerned a 30-day termination-notice provision and a contested exception for cause. The wage claim concerned unpaid compensation. Combining both into one unexplained total would hide the different assumptions and proof supporting each. Platt explains the contract issue; Platt addresses wages and damages disclosure.

Make the calculation traceable to records

A practical worksheet can identify the period, hours claimed, rate used, payment received, claimed difference and supporting document. Keep the arithmetic visible. If one figure applies to several periods, explain why instead of silently carrying it across the entire job.

This is an organizing method, not an overtime formula. Which hours and rates count, whether the worker is covered, and what additional remedies apply depend on the governing law and actual work arrangement. A contract label or a surviving pleading does not supply those answers.

Show estimates and payments honestly

When records are incomplete, label a reconstruction as an estimate and identify its basis, such as a calendar, appointment record or message. Keep periods with reliable records separate from periods reconstructed from memory. Mark changes in schedule or rate rather than assuming every week was identical.

Record payments already received and explain what period or category each covered. If a payment’s purpose is disputed, identify the dispute. Otherwise, a total may accidentally seek the same amount twice or overlook a deduction that requires its own legal analysis.

Attach support for each category, not just the total

The federal disclosure requirement discussed in Platt calls for computations and supporting documents. A spreadsheet containing only a final demand leaves the reader unable to evaluate the underlying hours, rates or other assumptions. Link each category to the records used to calculate it and flag the missing items counsel may need to seek in discovery.

The opinion concerns federal litigation. A Labor Commissioner proceeding or another forum may have its own procedures. The useful common preparation is a transparent calculation; the particular disclosure duty and deadlines must be checked for the actual case.

Keep entitlement and amount as separate questions

A sound calculation helps reveal the value of a potential claim, but it does not establish that the law provides the requested recovery. Counsel still needs to evaluate coverage, classification, the particular wage rule and any disputed facts. Our analysis of Platt explains why some claims survived while others were dismissed.

For a review, bring the agreement, work and payment records, and your calculation with its assumptions visible. That allows a discussion about both questions: What the evidence supports and what relief may be available under the governing law.